Greg Marshall, 18, of Pelham Road, Seaford, faced prison after racking up a string of offences ranging from sexual assault to burglary.
His various crimes have landed him with a number of community orders in the past which he has failed to comply with.
In his latest brush with the law Marshall was arrested for criminal damage after attacking the front door of his on-off
girlfriend's flat.
Prosecutor Mark Kateley told Lewes magistrates, "The criminal damage relates to the late evening of March 7.
"Mr Marshall went to an address in Pelham Road where one of the flats is occupied by his girlfriend, in fact the two
of them had just ended their
relationship.
"He had friends in other parts of the building but banged on her front door and shouted her name through the letter box.
"He started punching or kicking the door and then went away. The following day he came back and apologised to the lady in question but it transpired the door was damaged.
"The estimated cost of repair was £100.
"He has quite a large number of previous convictions going back five years or so."
Marshall admitted criminal damage and appeared in court for sentence on Wednesday.
Magistrates were told he was already the subject of four
different community orders imposed by Lewes youth court at various hearings in 2007.
The orders were handed down for offences including sexual assault, burglary, criminal damage and vehicle interference.
Marshall was said to have breached the terms of all four orders by failing to turn up for supervision appointments with probation officers and also going AWOL when he was supposed to be doing community service.
As a result he had done less than 28 hours out of 80 hours of scheduled unpaid work.
Michael Tyler, defending, said, "The transition from the youth offending team has been a
difficult one.
"Clearly he cannot brook any further excuses and he must knuckle down.
"He is on the threshold of a custodial sentence and that would be his first.
"The criminal damage was in the context of the relationship with his partner who is at court today.
"He accepts full responsibility for his actions and accepts he was stupid. This young couple are reconciled and got engaged last Friday.
"They have been living back together for six weeks.
"When he drinks alcohol clearly his behaviour and character change. He says he has stopped drinking.
"If he does drink he is going to get into further trouble, it's as simple as that.
"He has got a good work ethic and has been working up
until the last month in the
construction industry on a fairly casual basis.
"At this stage there is no work which is unfortunate but he is looking for work.
"With regard to the breaches he has had difficulties with accommodation and did not have the support of his family.
"He has also been sick and his brother was suffering from
suicidal thoughts and mental health difficulties and he sought to look after his brother.
"If he were to be sent to
prison the concern is that he is
somewhat impressionable and easily led and would be housed with more serious offenders.
"I ask you to consider pulling back from custody."
Sentencing, magistrates told Marshall that his criminal record was "horrifying" and that most courts would have imposed an immediate jail term.
They revoked the four existing community orders and imposed a variety of prison sentences for the various offences totalling 10 weeks.
Magistrates decided however to suspend the sentence for 12 months and told Marshall they were giving him a final chance to "behave like a man".
He was placed under the supervision of probation officers for 12 months and was ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work in the community.
He was also ordered to pay £60 court costs.